The Seven Deadly Sins – Ridding Our Lives of Sin

We’ve examined our behaviors and are ready to admit the sin in our lives.

We know what GOD’s WORD says about sin and its consequences and we know what GOD expects of those who claim Him as Father and His SON as LORD.

We also know that to continue in sin is deliberate rebellion against the GOD we love.

Every child of GOD yearns for a loving relationship and fellowship with the Father and we know when we’re not in harmony with His will for our lives. We can sense the spiritual unease within and we lack peace. 

We can only feel complete again when we close that gap of separation and know we have the Father's approval again.

Can broken relationships with the Father be restored?

Believers should know that the answer to this question – it’s a resounding, “YES!”

CHRIST paid the debt for all our sin – past, present and future, because GOD knew there will always be temptation to sin.

However, GOD wants His children to look and act like Him, to be holy 1 Peter 1:15-16, to not allow sin to rule our lives.

Because He does not ask anything of us that He hasn’t already made possible for us, GOD has given us the tools we need to keep living in righteousness.

Confession and repentance:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

The starting point to changing our sinful behavior and getting right with GOD is our obedience to GOD’s command.

GOD wants us to recognize our sin, admit and confess our sin, and turn from our sin.

The best example of how this is done is Psalm 51.

The Psalmist, David, begins his petition immediately with a plea for GOD’s mercy. He also names his moral failures – rebellion, guilt and sin. David  admits that he was deliberate in what he did and that the action is offensive to the Father.

For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against you — you alone — I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. (Verses 4 &5)

Throughout the psalm David lays out exactly how what he’s done has caused damage, and this is true for all of us. 

Sin damages us, the people we sin against and, most of all, our relationship with GOD.

Although David has done terrible things, he is confident in the character of his GOD. His past history with GOD is his assurance that GOD will forgive and restore him. 

David has known GOD’s mercy, faithful love and abundant compassion and trusts that GOD will grant these to him again….and again, if it becomes necessary.

The act of confession and repentance must be an ongoing habit in the life of a believer.

We can and will be guilty of wrong-doing but we do not have to live with guilt, and separated from our Father.

GOD’s faithful love, mercy and compassion will put us right again, because He has promised – He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Conclusion

It’s useless to pretend with GOD; He knows everything about us (Luke 8:17.)

Ongoing confession and repentance for sin is GOD’s command for believers.

Greater obedience to His WORD causes less temptation to sin.

GOD blesses those who obey His WORD and do His will (Psalm 119:1-2; Psalm 119:11.)

GOD will always hear and answer our sincere cry for mercy (Psalm 66:20.)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Psalm 51:10-12

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our Holy and Righteous Father, we admit that we are sinners and our sin is against YOU alone. We thank YOU for YOUR abundant mercy and steadfast love which cleanses us from sin and restores us to right standing with YOU. Teach us wisdom by YOUR WORD so we can know the joy of YOUR salvation. Bless us with the Holy Spirit to strengthen us against being tempted by evil and to choose instead what is good for YOUR glory and YOUR Name’s sake. We pray and ask all things in JESUS NAME. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

The Seven Deadly Sins – A Self-examination

One little three-letter word put JESUS on the cross. That word is SIN – yours and mine.

Nothing good comes from sin, it’s as damaging to the sinner as it is to the victim. Most grievous of all is the damage sin does to our relationship with the Godhead. Sin dishonors our Father, spurns the blood of CHRIST and grieves the Holy Spirit.

Over time Christian leaders have developed a list called The Seven Deadly Sin – pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, anger, and sloth. Although the term Seven Deadly Sins isn’t in your Bible, plenty of scripture warnings against acting out these sins are available.

Believers in CHRIST are redeemed from the judgement of sin by the blood of CHRIST but are still tempted to sin and do sin. To pretend otherwise, the Bible says, is to fool ourselves, live a lie and call GOD a liar. 1 John 1:8-10

We must ask ourselves some hard questions, if we’re serious about living in true fellowship with our Father. Be honest. Most of us can admit to struggling with one or more of these – pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, anger, sloth.

The Seven Deadly Sins – a self-examination

Which sin am I most tempted by?

Defining our sin –

• Pride: inordinate self-esteem: conceit – an excessive view of one's self without regard for others; a tendency to boastfulness.
• Lust: intense or unbridled sexual desire: lasciviousness; intense longing: craving.
• Greed: a selfish and excessive pursuit of more of something (material goods, money) than is needed.
• Gluttony: excessive and ongoing eating of food or drink.
• Envy: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with the desire to have the same advantage; an intense desire to have what someone else possesses.
• Anger: a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism; rage.
• Sloth: an excessive laziness or the failure to act and utilize one’s talents; indolence.

What does the Bible say about our sin?

• Prideful boasting is unwise unless the one “who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me...” Jeremiah 9:23-24; GOD hates pride; pride destroys and leads to failure; pride is not loving; GOD honors humility over pride.  Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 16:18, Romans 12:16, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Galatians 6:3 and James 4:6-7 Humility is the cure for pride – a servant’s attitude is a benefit to the Kingdom of GOD.
• Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. 2 Timothy 2:22; make a covenant with your eyes against lust; to gaze at the opposite sex with lust is adultery; think pure thoughts; lust is war against your very souls; lust is ungodly. Job 31:1, Matthew 5:28, Philippians 4:8, James 1:14-15, 1 Peter 2:11 and 1 John 2:16 We must have self-control over our lustful desires and divest that energy into good works.
• “Let your conduct be without covetousness (greed); be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5; don’t covet what others have; give and don’t be stingy; greed is a lack of faith in GOD; the love of money breeds discontent and evil. Exodus 20:17, Proverbs 11:24, Proverbs 28:25, Ecclesiastes 5:10, Philippians 4:6, 1 Timothy 6:9-10 A charitable spirit is the cure for greed – we desire to help others rather than to store up treasure for ourselves.
• “…whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31; gluttony is a form of idolatry – we make our stomachs our god; focus less on worldly pleasures; over-indulgence in food and drink can lead to poverty of health and resources; gluttony destroys GOD’s sacred temple – our bodies . Psalm 78:17-19, Philippians 3:19-20, Proverbs 23:1-3, Proverbs 23:19-21, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Practice moderation – a healthy body make us better able to serve others physically.
• A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30; envy kills the soul and warps our judgement; envy is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic; envy breeds disorder and evil. Job 5:2, Psalm 37:1, Proverbs 24:19-20, Ecclesiastes 4:4, Galatians 5:26, James 3:14-16 A contented heart is the cure for envy. Replace a desire for getting more with a desire to give more. We put other people’s needs above our own.
• Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20; anger is the emotion of fools but it’s wise to be patient; anger invites evil and opens the door to the devil to have control over our lives; an angry person makes a bad friend and destroys relationships. Ephesians 4:26-27, Proverbs 29:11, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Colossians 3:8, Psalm 37:2-9, Proverbs 14:29 Patience is the cure to anger. We do the most good in the Kingdom and make better impressions if we listen with patience and understanding and are slow to get angry.
• Sloth will cast a deep sleep; and the soul of sloth shall hunger. Proverbs 19:15; slothfulness breeds lack and poverty; the lazy person does not give GOD his best – we work for the LORD; “the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 24:33-34, Romans 12:11-13, Colossians 3:23, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 GOD wants us to be zealous about His work by placing the interest of others above a life of ease and relaxation.

 How do I begin to make things right with GOD?

There’s but one starting point for changing sinful behavior.

To be continued…

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our Holy and Righteous Father, YOU are our Creator and our GOD and holiness and righteousness are YOUR standards, so our sin is always against YOU. We thank YOU for being faithful in YOUR forgiveness and for the blood of CHRIST JESUS that redeemed us from judgement. May we seek YOUR face continually as we hide YOUR WORD in our hearts, the light to our righteousness. Strengthen us, Father, to lay aside every sin. We pray and ask all things in JESUS NAME. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

Let’s Talk About Angels – Part 2

What more does the Bible tell us about angels?

We can confirm that angels are more than what we see and hear about at Christmas, even though they have key roles in the Christmas story.

Many places in the Bible tell of angels carrying out very specific and demanding assignments for the GOD.

Because  they are created beings, angels don’t know all that GOD does (Matthew 24:36) but, because GOD created them a little above humans, angels seem to have greater knowledge and ability than we do. This is true for both good and evil angels (demons.)

With their superiority over humans, angels have the ability to impact our lives both for good and for evil.

Can angels be good as well as evil?

GOD created angels with the power to choose and some chose evil over good.

Good angels chose to love and worship GOD; obey Him and praise Him. They rejoice in everything GOD does. They carry out GOD’s commands to serve and encourage His people and care for us in our dying. “…angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.” Hebrews 1:14

On the other hand, evil angels, or fallen angels, chose to rebel against GOD’s authority. Christian scholars agree that one-third of the angels GOD created make up the fallen angels group. The good news is, a two-thirds majority remain with GOD.

The fallen angels GOD cast out from heaven permanently, and for all eternity. They could never be redeemed and be saved. 2 Peter 2:4

From Creation these evil spirits have been working to discredit GOD in the eyes of His people and GOD’s people before Him. The Bible calls their leader Satan, which means “Resister,” and the devil, which means “Slanderer.”

It was Satan, disguised as a serpent, who enticed Eve to disobey GOD in the Garden of Eden and caused the fall of all mankind. Genesis 3:1-7. This same evil angel tried to tempt JESUS into worshiping him in the wilderness, so he could ruin GOD’s plan for our promised redemption. Matthew 4:8-11.

Are Satan and his evil band of angels still tempting people today?

Obviously, the devil didn’t succeed in his attempts with JESUS. But his life focus daily is still about one-upping the Creator and the people GOD loves are his weapon of choice. He attempts to do damage to GOD’s Kingdom through us.

Satan uses the same methods of deception he tried with JESUS in the wilderness against us today. All designed to lure us over to the side of evil and away from GOD and holiness. Matthew 4:1-11  

What is Satan’s strategy?

• Attack us where and when we are most vulnerable Matthew 4:1-3
• Convince us to mistrust GOD’s providence and instead obtain success, power and popularity for ourselves, and rob GOD of the glory He deserves. Matthew 4:5-6
• Entice us to desire more of the carnal than the spiritual – to covet possessions and status, created idols we worship instead of GOD. Matthew 4:8-9

The Bible tells us that our own fleshly desires cause us to be enticed by the devil James 1:14-15. But GOD has given us a way out and power to resist. “...the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…” 2 Peter 2:9.

Satan tempted JESUS but He never sinned – we don’t have to either.

How did JESUS resist Satan?

At every turn, JESUS directed Satan’s attention to the only commands He was willing to listen to and obey; GOD’s WORD. Matthew 4: 4, 7, 10.

The WORD still works. It’s as powerful a weapon today as it was then and will cause the devil to leave us alone today just as it did then.

Our heavenly Father never leaves His children defenseless –

He gives us everything we need to fight off Satan’s schemes and deceptions – the full armor of GOD which includes the sword of the Spirit, the WORD of GOD. Ephesians 6:11-17.

GOD also gives us a sound warning to stay on high alert and be aware that the devil is always looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Stand firmly upon the WORD of GOD and you can resist the devil.

Conclusion

GOD created angels and humanity. While humans have physical bodies with a spiritual side, angels are spiritual beings that can take on physical forms to some degree.

Humans are also created in GOD’s image while angels are not.

Angels are not the passive, airy-fairy, or chubby infant-like creatures often depicted today; they can be intimidating and powerful. The Bible tells us that a single angel killed 185,000 soldiers over-night at the LORD’s command. 2 Kings 19:35

The majority of angels serve GOD and His people but some are “fallen angels” who are evil and will use GOD’s people to oppose GOD’s will, whenever they can.

Important lessons for the people of GOD –

• Our sole allegiance is to GOD, our Creator.
• Demons know it and are terrified! James 2:19

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”  Matthew 4:10

Prayer and Thanksgiving:  Holy Father, thank YOU for JESUS who taught us that we will be tempted by the devil but we do not have to sin against YOU. Thank YOU for the inerrant WORD that is everything we need for life and for godliness. Thank YOU for being the Creator of our joy and  everything for YOUR glory. Like the angels, we stand amazed by YOU! We rejoice in all YOU do! All things in JESUS NAME. Amen.

Always by GOD’s WORD and prayer,

Cecile